How often have you heard someone say "I just can't lose weight. No matter what I try..." The more we've changed our lifestyle and available foods over the past 50-100 years, the more we've had to come up with rules and guidelines for eating. As we've changed the chemistry of our metabolisms through the foods we eat, lifestyles we live, and the environments we live in, we've made our body's face metabolic challenges they've never faced before. Some people have the fortune of simply adjusting how many calories they eat and watching the weight come off. For others, weight loss is much more complicated than the idea of "calories in and calories out." If you're not seeing things change as much as you would hope to, the list below may offer some insight. The sections are listed from more simple issues to more complex, which would be a great way to review weight loss for your own life if things are not going the way you want them to. This is far from a complete guide, but could possibly help you consider some of the reasons you, or someone you know, is not seeing the results you've been expecting.
Underestimating Calories Consumed
Some people are fortunate enough to lose weight with the most basic means - managing calorie consumption. Simply eating less calories than they burn is enough to achieve weight loss, even when the source of those calories (carb, protein, fat) are not monitored. One of the reasons so many people who think they're doing everything right do not lose weight, is that they consistently underestimate how many calories they consume. Studies have shown that people take in 20-30% more calories each day than they think they do. A handful of candy without thinking, a handful of nuts instead of a serving, a full-sized steak instead of 6-8 ounces. It all easily adds up.
As an example, let's say an individual who burns 3000 calories per day with exercise attempts to take in 2500 calories, which theoretically should result in a pound of weight lost each week. Taking in 25% more than he thinks he's consuming means he's eating about 3100 calories per day, which could actually result in weight gain instead of weight loss. Research on this topic has found that the larger the meal is, the greater the margin of error when estimating calories. That means when eating out, it's best to get the nutrition information ahead of time, rather than estimating the large-portion meals served at most restaurants. Similar research has also found that those who attempt to cut calories by eating more healthy main dishes end up eating more calorie-dense side dishes, appetizers and deserts.
One of the best solutions to become more accurate in understanding calorie consumption is weighing and journaling food intake. It is difficult to estimate serving size just by looking at foods, especially if you've never measured foods before. A $15 food scale can be a great tool to learn how much food your actually eating, and using an online journal to track the food helps you account for everything you're eating. It's not necessary to weigh everything for the rest of your life, but using it for a few months to understand how small average serving sizes are is a great learning experience. As an added bonus, food often lasts longer, as you will get more meals from the same amount of food.
Overestimating Calories Burned
Using the dashboard of exercise machines can often be misleading, as they are designed with standardized formulas. A heart rate monitor allows for more accurate calorie calculations. Whichever method is used for calculating calories burned during a workout, there are still about 23 other hours in a day which must be accounted for. Studies have shown that when people exercise with increased intensity, they can often offset the calories burned during exercise by being less active later in the day. Someone who burns 500 calories in a workout may burn 500 calories less than normal later in the day because they are tired from their workout.
To make sure you still have plenty of energy later in the day to stay active, build up the intensity of your workouts. If you train too hard, too soon in your program, you may spend too much of your day resting and recovering, and not burning your normal amount of calories through daily activity. Exercise is an important part of a weight loss plan, but should be part of a properly designed program so it does not negatively impact the rest of your day.
Eating too many carbohydrates
A diet consistently low in fat and high in carbohydrate can keep blood sugar and insulin levels high throughout the day. When insulin levels are high, the body cannot release fat from the fat cells. Eating a lot of carbohydrates can also increase cravings for more carbohydrates. After a meal, when blood-sugar levels do start to fall, cravings for more carbohydrates go up and it's easy to reach for more high-carb snacks. Consuming extra protein with each meal or snack can help control blood-sugar, reduce hunger, and actually make your body burn more calories during digestion than carbohydrates and fat.
Focusing the diet on too many carbohydrates can displace calories from healthy fat and protein in the diet, which are important for weight management. To learn more about the importance of protein in your diet, check out The Power of Protein articles.
Micronutrient deficiencies can interfere with weight management
Although there isn't as much research on the topic, there is growing evidence to suggest that vitamin and mineral deficiencies can negatively affect the metabolism, increase food cravings, and halt weight loss. Vitamin D and the B vitamins have been more recently shown to be important for energy metabolism and weight management.
Stress can lead to weight gain
Chronic stress can cause havoc on weight management. The hormones released from chronic stress can sabotage the ability to control weight. One of the stress hormones, cortisol, has been directly related to the storage of increased belly fat. Otherwise-fit individuals can find themselves storing more belly fat, or visceral fat, as a result of unmanaged stress.
From a nutritional standpoint, avoiding processed foods, simple carbohydrates, or even excess carbohydrates in general is important when under a lot of stress. High-carb foods are appealing when under stress, but can only serve to make things worse.
Hormone imbalances can work against weight-loss goals
Beyond the stress hormones mentioned above, other hormonal issues can reduce the ability to lose weight. It can be a result of foods we eat, medications we take, even environmental toxins we encounter. If you've take care of the points above and still are not seeing results, it would be wise to consult with a Naturopathic Physician, Holistic Nutritionist or a Registered Dietitian who understands metabolism at a deeper level and understands how food and our environment impact metabolism function. As our food system and lifestyles have changed over the past 50-100 years, we encounter more challenges to our metabolism than ever before. If your metabolism is functioning efficiently, weight can be managed much easier. It can be improved through dietary changes, proper supplementation, and lifestyle changes.
Summary
In the space of a short article, hopefully you can understand the variety of reasons for not losing weight. In a time when two-thirds of our population is overweight or obese, and the rates of diabetes are increasing at alarming rates, we have to understand our health depends on more than simply eating foods that appear healthy on the label. If you've tried to lose weight, or know someone who has, without success, there is hope. It is not always as simple as just eating less calories. But then again, our food is no longer as simple as whole-food carbohydrates, protein and fat. Our lifestyles are not as simple as a 40-hour workweek. Our metabolisms are not a simple system either. However, with some patience, education and proper guidance, you can determine what is right or wrong for you.
In health,
Tom Nikkola
References:
Shai I, et. al. Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:229-41
Wansink B, Chandon P. Meal Size, Not Body Size, Explains Errors in Estimating the Calorie Content of Meals. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:326-332
Mahabir S, Baer DJ, Giffen C, Subar A, Campbell W, Hartman TJ, Clevidence B, Albanes D, Taylor PR. Calorie intake misreporting by diet record and food frequency questionnaire compared to doubly labeled water among postmenopausal women. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (2006)60,561-565
Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Nieuwenhuizen A, Tome D, Soenen S, Westerterp KR. Dietary Protein, Weight Loss, and Weight Maintenance. Annu Rev Nutr. 2009;29:21-41
Jim LaValle. Cracking the Metabolic Code. 2004. Basic Health Publications, Inc. Laguna Beach, CA
Gary Taubes. Good Calories, Bad Calories. 2007. Anchor Books. New York, New York.
This article is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations in this and other articles is at the choice and risk of the reader.
